Ambition of an Immortal
by Holy Brother
Summary: A secret group of shinobi kidnap a girl with mysterious powers that has ties to Konoha's past. Naruto style adventure set in part II! Rated T Reviews appreciated. Pairing NaruHina.
1. I Serpent's Strike

**Ambition of an Immortal**

_I The Serpent's Strike_

"Don't come out of here..." said Nesote as he slammed the door. The little girl in the closet shivered with fear as her brother slammed the door. She curled up in a corner of the closet as the sound of Nesote's retreating footsteps were overpowered buy the noise of explosive tags going off. The house shook as strange techniques were unleashed. Women screaming from nearby houses caused her to bury her head between her knees. The light coming from underneath the closet dimmed as smoke filled the room. A tear rolled down her cheek. The far wall of the room crashed down, opening the cottage to the outside air. The little girl fought the impulse to scream.

"Leave me alone!" shouted Nesote. The little girl raised her head in horror to see her brother being dragged by figures clad in dark clothing. Nesote kicked and struggled, but he could not free himself. One of his captors punched him in the gut. He coughed violently, and the little girl covered her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.

"What... do you want with us..." stammered Nesote as he tried to catch his breath. One of the figures drew a kunai and stuck it into Nesote's leg. He screamed in pain.

"We don't want anything with you..." said one of them. "You are worthless..." He withdrew his kunai and stabbed Nesote's other leg. Nesote screamed again.

"Our village hasn't done anything to you!" shouted Nesote.

"But you haven't done anything for us either..." said the ninja. "We ask so little... We only ask that you not steal our property..." The ninjas holding Nesote threw him to the ground. Another of the ninjas threw a kunai at him. To their surprise, the kunai stuck into a small log. Nesote had used a replacement technique in spite of his injuries.

"He can use ninjutsu…" said one of the ninja. "Although he only has a little chakra, he will be a perfect test!"

They turned to find him pull a knife out and lunge for one of the ninjas. One of them began forming seals with his hands. As he pointed his arms towards Nesote, bolts of lightning leapt from his fingertips and filled Nesote's body with unbearable pain. As he slumped to the ground, the little girl cried out. The ninjas stopped and turned to the closet.

"Wait!" shouted Nesote. The group of ninjas ignored him and pulled the closet door open. The little girl raised her head and saw the dark clad ninjas looking down on her. Their faces were covered except for their eyes. The shining silver forehead protectors that adorned their heads bore an emblem resembling a coiled snake.

"Leave her alone... take me!" shouted Nesote.

"Is she the one?" asked one of them. One of the Ninjas looked at her picked her up. She made no sound, but tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Please stop!" shouted Nesote. "She is my sister!"

"She _was _your sister..." replied one of the Ninjas. One of the ninjas formed a few quick seals and pointed at the girl. Her eyes began to glow brightly. Nesote screamed in pain and his stomach exploded. Blood splattered across the room. The little girl's eyes faded back to their normal color.

"She will need some time to recharge…" said one of the ninjas. "Let's go."

"Nesote..." she whispered. The ninjas carried her into the woods out of sight. A woman rushes in to the room.

"Nesote!!" she shouts. Nesote struggles to speak as the woman drops to her knees and weeps next to the young man.

"Mom… Imiri... taken..." whispers Nesote. Blood poured onto the floor, and it was clear that the injury was fatal. The weeping woman tried to calm Nesote.

"Don't move... I'll get a doctor..." she whispered as tears rolled off her cheeks and fell onto Nesote's chest.

"Money in floor... hire... Konoha..." Nesote coughed violently and then grew still. His mother's sobs grew louder as life slipped away from him.

"I will hire Konoha... I will get Imiri back..." whispered his mother. She got up and looked around. The sudden violent assault had ended with the capture of little Imiri, and the sounds of slaughter were replaced by the weeping of women throughout the village.

"Why...? Why would they do this? There was no need to kill him…" Hot tears of anger poured down her round cheeks. The woman got up and kicked pieces of debris away from a loose board in the floor. She pulled it up and retrieved a small satchel. She opened it up to reveal a shining stash of money. She closed it and got to her feet.

"I'll be taking that as well..." The woman whirled around, startled. Another ninja appeared before her and pressed a kunai to her throat.

"It will cover our traveling expenses..." The ninja laughed as he reached for the satchel. The woman spit in the ninja's eye. He shouted angrily, but lost sight of his target. The woman rushed out of the house. The ninja followed after her. The woman sprinted out into the woods. She looked behind her but it seemed that she had lost her enemy. She turned again to face the direction she was running. As soon as her head turned, she saw her enemy in front of her. She gasped and skidded to a halt. He grabbed her satchel and threw her to the ground.

"Thank you..." said the snake ninja. "Don't worry, some of your generous donation will be used to support the girl. After all, her abilities will be very useful to our master..."

"Who is your master? What does he want with my daughter?" asked the woman.

"My master prefers to remain anonymous..." replied the ninja. "And I think you already know why the girl would be useful to people of our profession..." The ninja turned away and walked toward the woods. The woman leapt at him. He spun and kicked her to the ground. She groaned and she landed on the earth.

"You do not have the ability to stop us. You should give up," said the ninja. "Even if you managed to get to Konoha, how likely is it that you can convince them to lend you their shinobi without pay? And even if they decided to lend their most powerful shinobi to you out of the generosity of their hearts, how likely is it that they could defeat the abilities that the girl will give us?"

"Shut up!" shouted the woman. "She is not a weapon! She is my daughter!" The woman got up and rushed at the ninja. He again spun around and kicked her in the face. She fell over and blood sprayed from her mouth. She struggled to get up, but after a few moments, darkness overtook her.

After several moments she came to. She coughed and slowly got up. The light of morning began to shine between the trees. She began to walk toward her village. Tears rolled down her face as she saw the demolished homes and gardens. As she entered the town, other townspeople gave her looks of anger. She made her way toward the center of town where the village elder was giving water to injured villagers.

"Tujek..." said the woman.

"Erin..." replied the elder. "Have you come to help?"

"Tujek... I wish to hire shinobi to reclaim Imiri..." replied Erin.

"Erin... do not think me unsympathetic, but we are not in a position to hire shinobi," replied Tujek.

"But Elder... we can get her back, and maybe stop this group that..." started Erin.

"Erin," interrupted Tujek. "Your daughter is no longer a secret. Now that one group of ninjas know of her, even if we defeat them, what is to stop others from doing the same?"

"But Elder..." said Erin.

"No Erin... we lost twenty of our men trying to hide her," said the Elder. "This is not a hidden village; this is a farming village..."

"One of those men was my son Nesote!" replied Erin. "I am going to Konoha!"

"I am sorry for your loss Erin..." replied Tujek. "But you go to Konoha on your own. We cannot help you..."

"I understand..." replied Erin as she turned and walked away.

"Will she get leaf ninja to help her?" asked one of the women helping the Elder administer aid to the wounded.

"I don't know..." replied Tujek. "I hope so..."

"But won't we get attacked again if Imiri comes back?" asked the nurse.

"The Hokage is a person of great repute..." said Tujek. "While she is a skilled fighter, she is better known as a healer. I would think that makes her more likely to be sympathetic to Erin's cause..."

After a day's travel, Erin arrived in Konoha. She was covered with dust, and still had bruises on her face from where she was kicked. Several ninja accompanied her to the Hokage's office.

"Who are you?" said Tsunade impatiently. Erin bowed before the Hokage.

"My name is Erin. I live in a village just north of the country of fire. I have come to beg for the aid of your fine shinobi to retrieve my daughter that was kidnapped by ninja last night," replied the woman.

"This type of mission will not be cheap," replied Tsunade.

"I beg your forgiveness but I have no money... the ninjas stole it from me before I could get here..." said Erin.

"I'm sure you understand, we aren't running a charity here," replied Tsunade.

"I would reclaim the money and my daughter myself, but the ninja stole it from me..." pled Erin.

"Right..." replied Tsunade impatiently. "I'm sure that your enemies would love to foot the bill for us hunting them down..."

"It's not theirs..." pled Erin as tears poured down her face. "And these were not ordinary ninja..."

"All the more reason for Konoha to not risk our shinobi without just compensation..." replied Tsunade. "And what would make you say these were not ordinary ninja anyway?"

"The marks on their forehead protectors..." replied Erin. "Their forehead protectors had the image of a coiled snake..." Tsunade sat up and raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"A coiled snake you say?" repeated Tsunade.

"Yes..." replied Erin. "I do not know what village or group they affiliate with though, and they refused to identify their master." Tsunade rubbed her chin as she thought about the woman's story.

"Why did no others from your village come here with you to persuade us to rescue their daughters?" asked Tsunade. Erin found the penetrating gaze of the Hokage uncomfortable.

"M... my..." stammered Erin.

"Your daughter was the only one taken?" asked Tsunade. Erin nodded. "And no one in your village particularly wanted her rescued?" Tears welled up in Erin's eyes. Tsunade got up and knelt to look Erin straight in the eyes. Erin tried to turn away, but Tsunade pulled her close to face her.

"Do not try to deceive me Erin," said Tsunade sternly. "What are your daughter's abilities? Tell me!" Erin wiped her eyes and turned toward Tsunade.

"She doesn't have abilities that she can use whenever she wishes..." she whispered. "But you are right that she has... powers... powers that others wish to exploit..." Erin cleared her throat and looked Tsunade in the eye. "Under certain circumstances, she causes a person's chakra to become destructive. Even the most powerful ninja becomes a victim of their own power."

"Do you know at what range the technique becomes effective?" asked Tsunade.

"She has to have seen the person once," replied Erin. "But after she has, the power is not limited by distance..." Tsunade's eyes grew wide.

"Then why can she not destroy the ninjas who captured her with this technique?" asked Tsunade.

"She cannot consciously use the ability," explained Erin. "It is activated when she is under the influence of ninja illusion techniques..."

"Genjutsu?" asked Tsunade. "There must be more to it than that..."

"There is..." said Erin.

"Hey Naruto!" shouted Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru!" said Naruto with a laugh. "Where are you going?"

"To Hokage-sama's..." replied Shikamaru. "You are supposed to come too!"

"What does granny Tsunade want now?" asked Naruto. He quickly leapt up until he reached Shikamaru's side. It was not long before they arrived at the Hokage's office. They opened the way and found Lee and Hinata standing next to a woman they did not recognize. Tsunade had a stern expression, but made no movements as the two entered.

"Oh... is this an important person we must protect?" asked Naruto excitedly.

"I do not want harm to come to her," replied Tsunade. "… but protecting her is not the purpose of this mission. Her daughter has been kidnapped. Your mission will be to rescue her."

"Do we know where she has been taken?" asked Shikamaru.

"I will let our client Erin answer that…" answered Tsunade.

"They headed northeast… toward the land of lightning…" replied Erin.

"Did they kidnap her for ransom?" asked Hinata.

"No," replied Erin. "She can be manipulated using genjutsu into turning people's chakra against them…"

"A perfect ninja assassin…" said Shikamaru. "Is the hidden village of Cloud involved?"

"The ninja that captured her wore forehead protectors that bore a coiled serpent…" said Tsunade.

"Oh! A serpent!" said Naruto excitedly. "That must be the hidden village of…"

"Naruto… there's no way you could know what hidden village that would be associated with…" said Shikamaru.

"Yes I do!" said Naruto defiantly. "It's…" Naruto scratched his chin as he thought about it.

"Naruto-kun…" whispered Hinata.

"Eh… ok, what is it?" asked Naruto.

"There are no records of a group that use a coiled snake as their emblem…" said Shikamaru.

"A secret new organization of ninjas that kidnaps little girls?" asked Lee. "If we don't bring her back, then I will run around Konoha twenty times on my hands Erin-kun!" Lee clenched his fist and gave a dramatic determined pose. Erin smiled at his determination.

"I am grateful to you Lee-kun!" she said. Lee began making strange poses as he continued his passionate rhetoric.

"What kind of ninja would try and take a young girl in the springtime of youth?!" shouted Lee. "There is no way they can match the strength of our youth sweat! We will definitely show them that there is no power greater than our hard work! This kind of…"

"Lee!" shouted Tsunade. "Enough! You four… accompany Erin back to her village, then rescue her daughter!"

"Yes Hokage-sama!" said Lee and Hinata. The five began to leave the Hokage's office.

"Shikamaru…" said Tsunade. "I have something to tell you before you go…" Shikamaru returned inside the Hokage's office and closed the door. The other four began to make their way out of the city.

"What is it Hokage-sama?" asked Shikamaru.

"I am sure that you came to the same conclusions about the snake forehead protectors as I have Shikamaru," she said.

"Even though Jiraiya-sama reported that _he_ had been killed…" started Shikamaru. "Do you think it's possible that he is still alive?"

"Yamato reported an interesting confrontation that he and Naruto had recently with his right hand man…" said Tsunade. "I believe _he_ is alive… but one other thing…"

"What is it?" asked Shikamaru.

"This is not the first time that the little girl Imiri has been kidnapped… per se…" said Tsunade.

"What do you mean?" asked Shikamaru.

"Several years ago, Imiri's mother Erin was kidnapped when she was pregnant with Imiri…" said Tsunade. Shikamaru gasped.

"That's right," said Tsunade. "_He_ experimented on her unborn child in order to develop new jutsus for himself…"

"I can't stand _him_..." said Shikamaru. "That _Orochimaru_!!"


	2. II Those that escaped from Orochimaru

_II Those That Escaped From Orochimaru_

"Hey Shikamaru!" shouted Naruto. "Hurry up!" Shikamaru ran to join the others outside the city and they began making their way up north.

"Hinata," said Shikamaru. "There's no telling how skilled these snake shinobi are… please use your scouting abilities to keep us from being caught off guard…" Hinata nodded and looked forward.

"_Byakugen_!" shouted Hinata. Her bright eyes focused and she became aware of everything around her.

"Do you think they expect a rescue Shikamaru-kun?" asked Hinata.

"It's impossible to know…" replied Shikamaru. "Especially when dealing with a shinobi like Orochimaru…"

"Orochimaru?!" shouted Naruto. "But Sasuke defeated him… He's definitely dead…"

"Hokage-sama told me that you and Captain Yamato met up with Orochimaru's right hand man…" said Shikamaru. Naruto scratched his head as he thought back.

"Oh… Kabuto…" said Naruto softly. "Yeah, he said injected himself with a part of Orochimaru. It was like Orochimaru was a part of his body…" Shikamaru scratched his head.

"Troublesome…" muttered Shikamaru. "Erin-san… it would help us if you could explain a little more about Imiri's power…" Erin had lowered her head as they walked.

"It's a cruel thing…" said Erin. "A ninja uses their power to create an illusion in Imiri's mind. I have never seen the illusion, but she has told me of it… They show her the person they want her to kill. Then they create the illusion of a snake bursting out of her stomach and striking the person. It apparently only works if she has seen the person outside the illusion, but what an awful thing to force someone so young and pure to become a tool to murder…"

"And the target of her ability has their chakra fight against them?" asked Shikamaru.

"Yes," said Erin. "I have only seen it a few times, but the chakra violently explodes in the shinobi, and left with mortal wounds and no chakra… it's awful… Orochimaru would force her to kill shinobi that displeased him in the hidden village of sound."

"That Orochimaru…" whispered Naruto angrily.

"Did they have to be close to her?" asked Shikamaru.

"Orochimaru tested that too…" said Erin as tears welled up in her eyes. "Imiri had just been born… and he would carry her around with those snakes in his arms, and if she cried he would muffle the sound with the scaly creatures… And when he had shown his victim to my baby girl he would take her back to me and capture her in his illusion. After some time, that medical ninja who was always with him would come in and report the horrific details. If there is a limit, I don't know what it is."

"If Orochimaru had captured such a powerful skill, why wouldn't he keep it?" asked Shikamaru.

"My daughter needs several hours to recharge the ability," explained Erin as she wiped her eyes. "In the meantime, word had reached Orochimaru that one of his former partners had found him. I think it was someone named Itachi… Anyway, when he left, I think he meant for us to remain prisoners until he could return, but a clever man named Tujek helped us escape to his village. Those that escaped from Orochimaru have been hiding there quietly ever since. How ironic that only after we hear that Orochimaru was defeated that Imiri is taken from me…" Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Erin-san…" whispered Hinata sympathetically.

"We will definitely get her back!" said Lee enthusiastically. Hinata looked over at Naruto. He seemed to be lost in thought. Hinata drew close to him.

"Naruto-kun…" she whispered. "Are you ok?" Naruto turned, surprised to see Hinata close to him.

"Hinata-chan!" he said with a smile. "Of course I am ok! You don't have to worry about a great ninja like me!" Hinata smiled widely. She loved his display of confidence, even though she knew that he had been involved in many dangerous confrontations with Orochimaru.

"Fuzzy-brows is right…" said Naruto. "We definitely have to get Erin's daughter back from Orochimaru!" Naruto's definitive statement raised her spirits after hearing the awful story of Imiri. She looked around with her bright eyes. In the distance, she suddenly became aware of chakra moving toward them.

"Shikamaru-kun!" shouted Hinata. Shikamaru nodded.

"Get around Erin!" said Shikamaru calmly. He leapt up into some nearby trees. After several moments, a group of four darkly clothed ninjas appeared in the road. The light of the moon reflected off of the silver forehead protectors of their opponents. The two groups stood still for a few moments.

"Who are you!?" shouted Naruto. The ninjas made no movements or sounds. Naruto clenched his teeth in anger and rushed towards them.

"Where is Imiri?!" shouted Naruto as he tried to punch one of them. To his surprise the ninja he had attacked vanished in a puff of smoke. The other three leapt away from Naruto.

"Oh… a _kage bunshin no jutsu_…" said Naruto. "You're my kind of ninja!" he laughed.

"Naruto-kun!" shouted Hinata. Naruto leapt up narrowly avoiding a trio of kunai that had been hurled at him.

"_Kage bunshin no jutsu_!" shouted Naruto. Dozens of orange-clad clones appeared all around.

"Get them!" shouted Naruto as he pointed at the snake ninjas. His clones leapt into the air and drew kunai.

"_Konoha senpu_!" shouted Lee as he spun around in midair and defeated another clone. Naruto's clones quickly dispatched the other two. There was a bright flash as they vanished. One of Naruto's clones turned to Hinata.

"Anyone else?" asked the clone. Hinata shook her head. Shikamaru leapt down and joined them.

"That was easy!" said Lee enthusiastically.

"Too easy…" whispered Shikamaru cautiously. "There is something not right…"

"Let's get back to her village," said Naruto impatiently. The group moved quickly for about an hour without incident. Erin coughed and slowed down.

"Are you all right?" asked Hinata.

"I just have not slept in some time…" she said wearily. "Exhaustion is catching up to me…"

"It's still a substantial distance to the village," said Shikamaru. "Maybe we should rest…"

"And waste the springtime of our youth?!" asked Lee. "We can still continue!"

"Lee-san…" said Hinata softly. "Erin-san needs some rest…" Reluctantly, Lee agreed to stop for the night.

"Good morning Naruto-kun!" whispered Hinata.

"Eh?" said Naruto as he slowly opened his eyes. "Hinata-chan… are we moving out?" Hinata shook her head.

"Lee is running around to warm up, but both Erin-san and Shikamaru-san are still asleep," she replied.

"Oh…" said Naruto as he sat up and stretched. "Then why did you wake me up?"

"I am sorry Naruto-kun…" she said. "I thought you might enjoy some breakfast…" Hinata handed him some food.

"Oh! Thank you Hinata!" said Naruto as he ate.

"This is really good Hinata!" said Naruto as small bits of food flew out of his mouth. Hinata blushed and smiled.

"Naruto-kun…" whispered Hinata softly.

"Eh?" said Naruto as he continued eating.

"Do you think that Orochimaru is trying to attack Konoha again?" she asked.

"Probably…" said Naruto. "I don't know."

"Naruto-kun… you fought Orochimaru… didn't you?" she asked.

"I remember Captain Yamato dressing up like Sasori and then Orochimaru surprised us…" said Naruto slowly. "I don't remember much more than that…"

"You must be an amazing ninja to go up against one of the legendary Sanin…" said Hinata with a smile. "After all, both Hokage-sama and Jiraiya-sama are really strong…"

"But I still wasn't strong enough to bring Sasuke back…" whispered Naruto sadly.

"Naruto-kun… I am sure that you will bring him back…" said Hinata. "You are not the type of ninja that gives up or stops fighting for those that are important to you…" Naruto looked into Hinata's white eyes and smiled. She opened her mouth to say something more, but Naruto's blue eyes distracted her. She smiled back at him.

"Thank you again for breakfast Hinata-chan!" said Naruto. "You're amazing!" Hinata's face turned bright red.

"Eh..? Hinata…?" said Naruto. "Are you ok?" Lee came running up.

"Naruto-kun… Hinata-san!" said Lee enthusiastically. Hinata was relieved to have a distraction. "Come run a marathon with me to get warmed up!"

"Lee, we can't run a marathon…" said Shikamaru as he rubbed his eyes. "We're going to Erin-san's village." Shikamaru roused Erin. She gasped as she woke up. Her forehead was covered in sweat, and her eyes were filled with horror. After realizing where she was, she calmed down. Hinata came up to her and offered her some food. She slowly smiled and ate. After several minutes, the group got up and headed north.

The sun shined brightly through the trees. The sound of birds filled the air, and the memory of their encounter with the snake ninjas faded away as they enjoyed the beauty of the country of fire. Hinata looked at Naruto. He smiled widely. Lee was clearly frustrated with their slow pace, but he said nothing. Shikamaru looked at the ground as he walked. Hinata could tell that he was deep in thought. She turned forward to resume scouting with her bloodline limit ability the Byakugen. She began to think about their last attack as well. What was the purpose of sending a few weak clones? Why had they not been attacked after? If they already had Imiri, why would attacking Erin be important?

"It's not far," said Erin. "We're coming close." Hinata noticed a group of individuals with chakra. They were identical to the shadow clones that had attacked them the previous day.

"More snake ninjas are approaching the village…" said Hinata. "My ability can't tell if they're shadow clones though…"

"Let's get them!" said Naruto enthusiastically.

"We don't know if it's a trap," said Shikamaru quietly. Naruto grumbled in disappointment. Shikamaru turned to him.

"That's where your ability will be useful Naruto…" said Shikamaru. Naruto smiled.

"_Kage bunshin no jutsu_!!" shouted Naruto.

"Leave him alone!" shouted a village woman. Tujek, the village elder, was on the ground with a kunai in his arm. He struggled to get up.

"Stay back!" shouted Tujek to the other women.

"How noble of you!" said a snake ninja. "I actually don't care if you get hurt or not, but I am anxious to obtain more funding for our experiment."

"We have seen the results of your experiments…" said Tujek. "We will not help you!"

"It does not matter how determined you are…" said the ninja. "The fact remains that you do not have the strength to stop us. We will take your valuables, and you cannot stop us." He motioned to his comrades. Three other snake ninjas ran into a nearby cottage. As the village women heard the sound of crashing furniture in the house, tears came to their eyes. They knew they were powerless against these shinobi. To their surprise one of the snake ninjas flew out the cottage and slid across the ground. A moment later the others flew out and landed next to the first. Out of the cottage, in his black and orange tunic came Naruto. The villagers gasped in shock as the young blonde ninja stepped out and raised his head.

"Tell me where Orochimaru is!" shouted Naruto angrily.

"So passionate…" said the first ninja. "Master Orochimaru was right about you… Naruto!"

"Orochimaru…." said Naruto angrily. "Why are you helping him?! What does he want with these people!?"

"Unfortunately, Naruto-kun…" replied the ninja. "We don't have time to deal with you right now…"

"I won't let you escape!" shouted Naruto. He rushed toward the ninja. There was a puff of smoke as one of the ninja used a lightning jutsu to reveal that Naruto was only a shadow clone.

"And now Tujek," said the Ninja. "You will offer your valuables to us…"

"Like I would fall for that!!" shouted a pair of Naruto shadow clones that lunged at the snake ninja leader from behind. The snake ninja turned as the pair of clones kicked him and hurled kunai at him. The ninja found himself pinned to the ground.

"You've planned ahead," said the ninja on the ground. "But so have I!" The ninja vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Eh?" said Naruto. "A shadow clone?" Both of his clones turned to see the ninjas running away carrying satchels of money. Both clones leapt after the ninjas.

"We need to move faster Ukimo!" shouted one of the snake ninjas.

"Wait a little longer Roger!" replied the leader.

"Ukimo!" he repeated as Naruto's clones came closer.

"Now!" shouted Ukimo.

There was a large explosion in north of the village. Naruto stood up straight.

"Naruto-kun!" whispered Hinata.

"They defeated my clones," said Naruto. "They are leaving the village.

"Explosive tags…" said Shikamaru. "It is unwise to rush after them, but it should be safe to go to the village."

The leaf ninjas accompanied Erin into the village. Several people were helping Tujek with his injuries. The villagers gasped to see Erin coming accompanied by these shinobi.

"So their Hokage decided to help you Erin…" said Tujek. "What a kind person she must be."

"Indeed," replied Erin. "All of Konoha's shinobi have been most kind to me."

"I apologize that our ability to extend hospitality to you has been lessened," said Tujek as he looked at the Konoha shinobi.

"While we would welcome your hospitality, we have need of your information," said Shikamaru.

"I will of course help as much as I can," said Tujek. The women helped him to his feet. "Come with me." The ninjas followed him into a building near the center of town. Tujek jerked on the stiff wooden door and it finally gave way and opened.

"Come in," said Tujek cheerfully. "Ask me any question, and I will hold nothing back. I assume that you have questions about Orochimaru?"

"Yeah, where is he?!" exclaimed Naruto. Tujek smiled.

"I'm afraid I don't know where he currently is Naruto," replied Tujek. "Even when I was his prisoner, he changed his location regularly. It was only chance that I escaped."

"How have you remained hidden from him for so long?" asked Shikamaru.

"At this point, I wonder if we were ever truly hidden from him…" said Tujek. "It is possible that we were simply less valuable than Uchiha Sasuke, and he didn't bother to come after us until now." Hearing Sasuke's name caused Naruto to clench his fists in anger.

"We understand about Imiri's abilities," said Shikamaru. "But do you know what his goal is? How does he plan to use her?"

"For as long as I knew Orochimaru, he never had any goals," said Tujek. "… except to acquire all ninja techniques. He has certainly done a lot of work to develop new techniques with his experiments."

"And with all the people that Orochimaru has seen," said Hinata softly. "Having such an ability would make him extremely powerful…"

"I suppose there is one other thing that he has said," replied Tujek. "I would not be surprised if it was the real reason why your Hokage sent you on this mission."

"What is it?" asked Lee.

"He spoke of his ambition to destroy the most powerful hidden village," said Tujek. "I believe it is also his ambition to crush Konoha…"

"Then it is our ambition to stop him!" said Naruto. Hinata looked nervously at her favorite blonde ninja. She recognized the tone in his voice. She knew he would never take back his words, and if Naruto was to survive the conflict, then they would have to find some way to stop an immortal.


End file.
